In this era of social media, churches aren’t just preaching the Word of God to those in the congregation. They also are using social media to spread their message.
Clark Campbell, a blogger, said social media “is a tool for interaction and connection, not merely a megaphone to announce the next church program and party.
“Social media opens doors and opportunities to engage with people who rarely, if ever, step foot in a church building.”
Campbell is a blogger for Social Ecclesia: Spirit-led digital presence.
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, more than 60 percent of 13 to 17-year-olds have at least one profile on social media sites and spend more than two hours per day on social networking sites.
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are among the best ways to reach young people along with other avenues such as blogging.
According to Danny Sullivan, who is known as a social media guru and writer for the blog “Search Engine Land,” there are many ways churches can make their presence known on sites.”
In his blog Sullivan gives advice on how to use each social media site.
Facebook is becoming an avenue for getting out information not just for young people but older people as well. When a user “likes” a particular page, such as a church’s page then that page will be recommended to that users friends to “like” as well, thus getting the word out about the church and its overall message.
Facebook is different from other social media sites in the fact that people can use more than 140 characters in writing their messages. Some churches opt out of using Facebook because they feel it’s not for members of all ages.
According to Julie Welles at SparkMission, a social media management company, 45 percent of Facebook users are 26 and older.
Sullivan recommends that when using Twitter, use hashtags to tweet about a sermon. For example, if the pastor is preaching about abundant living, add #abundantliving at the end of the tweet. By adding a hashtag, people in the congregation as well as non-members will see the post when they tweet about the topic.
Also the church name can be a hashtag. For example, if the congregation is attending an event they can tweet about it bringing attention to that event. A United Methodist Church could use #umc when tweeting about events.
According to eBiz, Instagram is the seventh most popular social media site. Instagram users can post pictures and make videos of the things they see around them everyday.
There is even a page called “churchoflaugh” dedicated to the funny things people see happening in church daily. Many people with smartphones have Bible apps. If a particular Scripture is used in a sermon, users can easily screen shot it and post it on Instagram.
Like Facebook, Instagram has no character limit so the caption can be any length.
Churches also can post fliers of upcoming events such as a clothing drive or if a special guest will be coming the preach on Sunday. Followers can “regram,” which means to repost the flier on their own page to bring the event to a wider range of people.
“Many pastors have blogs that they use to elaborate on a past sermon or prepare members for an upcoming sermon, and to talk about something that is happening in the world, share a devotional or web content,” said Campbell.
“ I think blogging can make pastors better preachers as it helps one refine thoughts and focus on clarity,” said Sullivan of Search Engine Land.
Sullivan also pointed out that while making a church’s presence know on social media is important, a church’s official website should be up to date and easy to navigate.
Many churches have people who may travel for work, have sick parents they are taking care of, and college students who go to school out of state. Having an online link to a live video stream or at least the audio of a service can allow people from all over to listen to the church’s sermon. A church’s media team can copy and paste the link onto the church’s various social media pages and website so everyone can get to it.
